Rejection

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him. 2 Peter 2:4

What brand of nacre do you use?

No, it’s not misspelled. What brand of  n-a-c-r-e  do you use?

 Of course that begs the question,  what on earth is necra?

Nacre is the filmy layer of goo an oyster secretes to cover a grain of sand that has embedded itself in the oyster shell and become a nasty irritant.  The necra eventually hardens around the irritating grain of sand and exerts so much pressure on the  grain of sand  that it over time it becomes a beautiful diamond.of inestimable value.

Back to the main question– what brand of necra do you use?  Of course we don’t have any necra laying around when things irritate us to the point of distraction. Walmart doesn’t carry it. either. And there’s no limit to  the kind or severity of irritants we experience. The irritant can be is pesky as a snoring spouse or a banging toilet or a neighbor who parks two of his wheels on your grass.

Admit it. Things and people  irritate us almost every day.

Unlike the oyster we don’t have any goo to make the irritation go away or turn it into a sparkling diamond. If we don’t dispatch that pesky irritation, it will continue to fester and gnaw at us and make us miserable.

Let me  share  a two-step process it is guaranteed to minimize or completely eradicate any irritation you might experience.

Bathe yourself  in Psalms

It doesn’t matter which Psalms you read.  Just open your Bible and start reading Psalm after Psalm. . The Psalms will begin changing your attitude and lifting your Spirit.  Reading Psalms will give you an entirely new perspective of your irritations and give you God’s perspective and scriptures on how to handle them.

Remember, recite and meditate on Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 is not just a promise God makes to us. It is something God does for us in our daily lives.  First of all every choice we make and everything we do gets filtered through God’s love and grace for us. And he uses our choices, decisions and actions for our ultimate good.  So if you are dealing with irritations in your life keep in mind  that God is going to turn it all into something for our good.

And bye bye irritations .If you don’t believe this method will work for you, try it and prove me wrong.

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God answered critical Tucson prayer.

2-decades-old prayer still strikes a nerve

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Letter to Millennials from the Frustrated Church

The Prayer Cafe

When you want to hear from God

Editor’s Note: I can’t count the times I’ve wanted (needed) to hear from God and didn’t. I’m an impatient sort, so I feel uncomfortable when God says, “Wait.”  My blogging friend, Kelly Baker, wrote an excellent post on her blog about three things we might consider when we need to hear from God. I wanted to share her insights and thoughts with all my readers.  Be blessed.

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By Kelly Baker
Guest author
Blogging at KellyrBaker.com

Don’t we love it when God gives clear direction straight into our spirit? Generally speaking, He doesn’t always do that! One day I longed to hear from God. I worshipped.

Silence.

I prayed. I asked. I went to battle with the Word.

More silence.

I waited.

Again, exasperating silence.

A Psalm of David. I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Psalm 28:1 NLT

This particular translation of this verse makes me chuckle. I’m sure there is a more productive solution than self-pity. But, what do we do when He says nothing? Why does He say, “Wait”?

We all desire to hear His voice clearly, and when we haven’t we wonder what are the possible reasons. It’s not easy to be at peace with His temporary silence, but we can be sure He has a purpose in it.

3 Actions While Waiting on God’s Answer 

1. Spend time with God daily. Could it be that He wants to fill our hunger and thirst? He desires that we know Him more and more through His Word. When we study the Bible, we begin to know God’s character. I’ve thought of someone in the midst of a situation and said, “I already know what that person would say!” When we know someone well, we can easily hear that person’s voice playing in our head. When we regularly spend time with God, it becomes easier to “know” what He would say in those times when we feel He is silent. We can then more readily relate His Word to our circumstances.

2. Consent to character development. There may be times when we open our Bible while seeking Him for specific direction, and the Holy Spirit will illuminate the words we’re reading. Suddenly, there is an answer staring us in the face, maybe even from an entirely different angle. He might be telling us we need to make an adjustment. It might not have been the answer we thought we needed, but the one He knows we need. He often gives us what we don’t expect, but it’s still an answer. To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet (Proverbs 27:7b KJV).

3. Trust Him. God is getting every detail in place. Have you ever looked at the perfect way gears lock together and turn when they fit properly? When we wait for His timing we see Him properly align every specific, necessary facet. Sometimes we think we are stuck, but if we could take a step back and see His viewpoint we would see the big picture. We aren’t all clock makers. He is working on our big picture. He’s got it covered.

Through His seeming silence, God might be saying, “Come and know Me more,” or “An adjustment needs to be made.” At other times, He may be wanting us to let go of the stress and trust Him. He will fulfill His promises. Let’s not allow doubt to be a hindrance. A prayer of doubt will nullify a prayer of faith.

What are other reasons God may be silent, or say, “Wait”?

!!!SPECIAL POST AND PRAYER REQUEST!!!

What started as a small scratch, a break in the skin, turned into a blood infection which turned into a rare flesh-eating bacteria, which resulted in the amputation of both feet and right hand of Cindy Martinez.

Soup?! A Bowl Of Soup?!

Leftovers

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Shannon’s Prayer

Gimme Gimme Gimme

blah . . .blah . . .blah

The Muslim Challenge

By Dr. John Ed Mathison
Executive Director
John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries

How important is prayer? We would quickly say that it is extremely important in the Judeo-Christian heritage.

But look how seriously Muslims are taking the responsibility to pray. They have a five times a day ritual,

The First Thanksgiving

Originally posted on November 24, 2011

They didn’t pile into the SUV, or the sled, and go to Grandma’s house.

They didn’t stuff themselves, then nap on the couch or prepare too shop on Black Friday.  They didn’t park in front of the TV to watch football.

“Tebowing” Impacts Culture, Language

Tim Tebow, quarterback for the Denver Broncos American professional football team, is impacting  his sport, our society and our language.

Tebow, former college football quarterback for the Florida Gators, prays

Faith In Captivity — Part III

Today we are posting the third message in a three-part series by guest blogger Bryan Ridenour. Bryan is a Christian, a husband, a father  of four, and a music/youth pastor, and occasional blogger at brvan.com.  He writes his blog, “as the opportunity presents itself,” he says. “I enjoy writing short stories, poetry, and biblical studies, genres that I hope God uses to encourage other believers. “

Living a life of faith opens opportunities for ministry

Question: What nudged a valiant warrior, a decorated army officer…a national hero to consider the suggestion of a lowly servant girl?

God’s Answers Sometimes “Unsearchable”

In Jeremiah 33:3, often called God’s telephone number, God encourages His children to, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” I heard this verse in a lesson on the radio this morning. As I was meditating on that word while driving the word “unsearchable” stuck in my mind.